Sail Through History: Trace the Baltic Battles of WWII on a Luxury Cruise

Sail through history: Tour the Baltics of WWII with The National WWII Museum

As interest in both small-ship cruising and educational travel continues to grow, The National WWII Museum in New Orleans taps into the trend by developing trips that trace events of the World War II era while offering unprecedented luxury and access to discerning guests. The latest of these trips is Tyranny on Two Fronts, a nine-night land and cruise program featuring renowned author and historian Alexandra Richie. The trip explores the tangled web of alliances along the Baltic Sea coast during World War II.

With accommodations aboard the luxury Le Soléal megayacht, guests will sail from Stockholm, Sweden to Copenhagen, Denmark with ports of call in history-rich Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Tallinn, Estonia. Guests travel in style, with balconies featured on every cabin and French-inspired cuisine for seven nights. Before boarding the ship, accommodations are provided for two evenings at the historic five-star Grand Hôtel Stockholm and post-cruise for one evening at Hotel D’Angleterre in Copenhagen.

The truly unique and enriching itinerary developed by The National WWII Museum provides in-depth exploration of key cities and events in the Baltic which played a key role in shaping the outcome of World War II. With her expertise on Central Europe and the Baltics, Dr. Richie’s presence will lend valuable insights into the region through daily talks and interactions. Guest will gain a deeper understanding of the one-of-a-kind circumstances that Scandinavia and the Baltic countries dealt with in the early years of the war. With brutal dictators in power on both sides, Sweden, Norway, and Finland found themselves trapped in the middle and had to rely on a complex set of negotiations and alliances for survival – and this trip visits many of the areas that were significant during this time.

What makes this voyage most remarkable are the once-in-a-lifetime connections and interactions planned throughout the program. In addition to unprecedented access to items from The National WWII Museum archives and visits to key sites throughout the entire visit, guests have full-time access to Dr. Richie, who personally guides the group through the locations on the itinerary.

Underscoring her expertise in the field, one of Ms. Richie’s most recent works, Warsaw 1944, became the #1 best-selling book in Poland and won the Newsweek Teresa Toranska Prize for Best nonfiction 2014, as well as the Kazimierz Moczarski Prize for Best History Book in Poland 2015.

“From stops like the first capital cities to fall to Nazi Germany in 1940 to where politicians delicately maintained neutrality in the conflict, Tyranny on Two Fronts is truly a behind-the-scenes tour of historic sites with one of the world’s most celebrated authorities on the region and time period.”

Additional highlights of the itinerary include:

• Visiting sites important in the Winter War like St. Petersburg, Russia, the scene of one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history.

• Stopping at the Mannerheim Museum in Helsinki, Finland, which is the home of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, the leader of Finland’s military during World War II and former president of Finland.

• And exploring museums and former prisons in Tallinn, Estonia, where the people were oppressed by two brutal occupations.

For nine nights, from June 6 through 15, 2018, Tyranny on Two Fronts starts at $10,495 per person, based on double occupancy. Pricing includes seven nights aboard Le Soléal megayacht including meals and gratuities; three nights in luxury hotels pre- and post-cruise; scheduled shore excursions; airport transfers; and many additional activities as featured on the full itinerary.